PHILADELPHIA _ There was always a sense that Ben Simmons could be sidelined at least until late in the regular season or the start of the postseason. It appears that sense could become a reality for the 76ers point guard, who is sidelined with a pinched nerve in his lower back.
The two-time All-Star will miss his eighth consecutive game when the Sixers host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers made an afternoon announcement that Simmons will be reevaluated in three weeks.
Three weeks from Wednesday is April 1. At that point, there would just be seven games remaining in the regular season, which will conclude on April 15. The NBA playoffs are set to begin April 18.
The team has been vague in regards to his injury. However, the Sixers had to wait initially on the swelling in his lower back to subside.
A pinched nerve _ or "nerve impingement" as the Sixers refer to it _ is just a symptom of a larger issue. In most instances, waiting for swelling to subside is a disc issue. The disc bulges and impinges the nerves. To resolve, the injury requires rest, an injection ... or surgery if the other two don't work.
Rehabilitation for such injuries has to be great and takes extended time to return to full strength. In a statement, the Sixers said Simmons continues to progress in his rehab. It said that he's receiving daily treatment and gradually increasing strength and conditioning activities.
The team said he experienced lower-back tightness while grabbing a rebound during practice on Feb. 19, the first practice back from the All-Star break. Simmons received treatment and missed the following day's game against the Brooklyn Nets.
But the next game for the underachieving Sixers was on the road against the NBA's best team, the Milwaukee Bucks, on Feb. 22, on national television. He played ... for just 4 minutes, 44 seconds.
This isn't the first time that Simmons has dealt with lower-back issues. He's been dealing with lower-back tightness since the 2018-19 season. Simmons left the team's Oct. 20, 2018 game against the Orlando Magic with back tightness with 4:19 left in the first quarter. Simmons did not return to the game, and missed the following game. This preseason, he missed the final two games because of it.
When you look at the start of the game against the Bucks, Simmons made a couple of moves to the basket and scored on a couple of layups. But you could tell his back was tight. He re-aggravated the back injury while driving to the basket and making a hard stop on his way to scoring a layup. It was apparent that Simmons injured his back before exiting the game.
